Liza believed him. She was too tired not to. “I keep saying thank you.”
“Then don’t, just get in.” He followed her into the cab, gave the driver her address.
“You’ve helped me, when you didn’t need to.”
“When I was little, my father knocked my mother around. People helped us when they didn’t need to. I learned a long time ago to pay it forward. So stop thanking me.”
“Okay.” She fixed her gaze out the window and made herself accept the truth. “I think Lindsay’s dead. But I can’t give up looking for her.”
“I understand. What time did you start hunting last night?”
“Eleven.”
“My uncle’s in town and I’m meeting him for dinner. I can’t cancel because he’ll get suspicious and I don’t think he’d like me hunting hookers with you tonight.” He said it under his breath so the driver wouldn’t hear. “It’ll be eleven or twelve before I’m back in the dorm. Do not leave without me. I will come and get you in my car. Promise me.”
“What about your cop friend? Will Olivia tell?”
“Tell my uncle? No. I think they’ve only met each other once at a wedding, so, no.” He put another twenty in her bookbag. “Get some food. Promise me.”
“Tom.” Overwhelmed, she had to say it once more. “Thank you.”
Tuesday, February 23, 5:50 p.m.
Jack dropped a photo on Abbott’s desk. “We think we found him.”
Abbott picked up the photo of a clean-cut forty-four-year-old man. “Who is he?”
“His name is Axel Girard,” Noah said. “He’s an optometrist in Edina. His car followed Christy Lewis’s out of the waffle house lot on Monday.”
“Does he have a record?” Abbott asked.
“No,” Noah said. “Only one speeding ticket years ago. He’s a churchgoing man and was volunteer of the year for doing free eye exams in inner-city neighborhoods.”
Abbott sighed. “And our killer glues their eyes open.”
“Exactly,” Jack said and put down a series of time-stamped photos. “Security video shows him waiting in his car for over an hour. When Christy came out, she went to the gas station next door. He moved his car so that he was closer to the shared exit. Christy filled up her tank. She leaves, and a minute later, so does Girard.”
“You can’t see his face in any of these pics,” Abbott said.
Jack showed him a close-up of Girard’s Minnesota plate. “But we got his plate.”
“Then pick him up. I’ll get Ramsey from the DA’s office to observe. Good work, both of you.” Abbott sat back in his chair and studied Noah’s concerned face. “Isn’t it?”
Jack scowled. “Web thinks it was too easy.”
Noah shrugged. “For such a supposedly smart man, that was a really dumb move.”
“Pick him up,” Abbott said again. “Then we’ll see how smart he is. Noah, wait. We requested the files from Eve’s study a few hours ago. Tell her I’m sorry.”
Noah nodded. Her life was now officially changed once more. “Okay.”
Tuesday, February 23, 6:20 p.m.
“What’s the verdict?” Eve asked when David came in, blowing on his cold fingers.
“You’ve got holes in your roof,” he said dryly. “I patched the one over your bed and I’ll do the other tomorrow.” He perched on the arm of her stuffed chair. “Who is that?”
“Gary,” Eve said with a nod toward the avatar on her screen. Gary sat on a bar stool at Ninth Circle looking very out of place and very geeky.
“He’s not your usual style.”
He was totally vanilla, exactly as Eve had wanted. “He’s from the template.”
“Why?” David drew the syllable out, suspiciously.
“Because I saw that handsome avatar that was talking to Christy in Ninth Circle the night she was killed. He was back in Ninth Circle dancing with an avatar I don’t know.”
“And then you called Detective Webster, just like you promised.”
“I did, but got his voicemail.” She’d wanted to rush up to the woman dancing with the avatar and warn her. The woman was new, one of Eve’s own designs. But she didn’t warn her, and it was eating at her. Instead, she waited while Gary kept an eye out.
“So what’s up with Gary?”
“I don’t want Noah to get in trouble, but I wanted to visit Claudio. Claudio designed the male dancer, so I couldn’t go using one of my designs. He’d have spotted me right away and thought I was spying on his new spring line. Claudio is very paranoid.”
“Claudio is very pricey,” David said.
“Spendy. That’s what they say here. Tell me you didn’t buy from Claudio.”
“Nah, just went for ideas. I spend my Shadowbucks on cars. Really fast cars.”
She smiled at him, delighted. “You’re a racer?”
“Occasionally. I had to upgrade my computer system. The Monte Carlo expansion pack uses more RAM than my computer came with.”
“You should’ve gone with the poker expansion pack. No additional RAM needed.”
“But racing is cooler. Do you play in the casino?”
“Used to. Now I just watch. One of my red-zones lives at the poker table. Awhile back, I was the top winner for weeks. But racing is cooler.”
“So why’d you go see Claudio?”
“I thought I’d find out about that avatar, see who he’s sold it to.”
David looked skeptical. “He won’t tell you that, will he?”
“He did. Gary asked for references. Claudio felt sorry for Gary’s plainness, and was happy to help him upgrade, giving screen names of clients, two of which bought the dancer. I’ll give them to Noah. He needs to call soon. I have to work tonight.”
David frowned. “I don’t like the idea of you being alone.”
“I work in a bar full of cops. I’ll be fine. If you’re so worried, come with me.”
He shook his head. “I’m having dinner with Tom.”
Eve frowned. “Not fair. The only time I have the night off, he’s at a game.”
“Take the night off. It’ll be like old times.”
It sounded sweet. “I want to, but I can’t. I missed last night and I need the money.”
“Then I’ll drop you off and pick you up at Sal’s.”
“That’ll work. I think I’ll call Noah again. Sal’s gonna be pissed if I’m late.”
Tuesday, February 23, 6:45 p.m.
“This is a mistake.” Joan Girard followed as Noah and Jack escorted her husband from their nice Edina home, wringing her hands in helpless misery. “A huge mistake.”
“Of course it is.” Axel Girard tried to soothe his wife. “Call the lawyer, he’ll know what to do. Keep the boys calm. Tell them I’ll be home in time to read their bedtime stories.”
“Now that’s a fairy tale, pal,” Jack said caustically. “You shouldn’t lie to your kids like that. But then again, what’s a little lie after three murders?”
“I’m telling you I have no idea what you’re talking about. Joan, go back inside,” Girard said, his smile forced. He gestured toward their picture window with his head, where two terrified children cried as their father was taken away.
Jack wasn’t gentle as he helped Girard into the backseat. “Keep your hands where I can see them or I’ll have to cuff you in front of the kids. Come on, Web. Let’s go.”
“Wait.” Noah’s cell was vibrating for the third time in minutes. “I need to take this.”
“Fine. Just hurry.” Jack got behind the wheel, turning to watch Axel Girard.
Noah glanced at his caller ID. Eve. “What’s happened?”
“I tried to call you before,” Eve started.
“This isn’t a good time. Can I call you back?”
“No. I have some information and need to leave for work. I don’t think you want me to be talking about this in the bar. I found the male avatar. He’s in Ninth Circle.”
Still outside the car, Noah stared at the man in the backseat. “Right now?”
“Yeah. I’m lookin’ right at him.”
So am I, Noah thought, but his gut wasn’t right. “You’re sure it’s the same guy?”
“As sure as I can be. You told me not to approach him.”
“You mean you didn’t? Not even as Nemesis?”
“I didn’t want to get you into trouble. But I did get into the user files. The avatars were changed and I have the dates and times the codes were accessed. You ready?”